There is a valley of the shadow where rhyme and reason fail
When the mountaintop you’re climbing becomes a dead-end trail
You’re just too tired and broken to utter a single prayer
Your spirit cries for water...but the water isn’t there
Your faith is tossed and shaken like a wave upon the shore
It’s the narrow path you’ve taken that the saints have walked before
You’ve entered in the fire where Jehovah fashions gold
You’ve entered in the dark night of the soul.
There is no greater pain than the Father’s silence. 
But you are not alone in experiencing it. 
Job said, “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward,
 but I cannot perceive him.” David said,
“Why are you so far from helping me? 
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
Christ Himself cried, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
If you are being so tested, beloved, understand that the dark night of
the soul is reserved for those to whom God is calling deeper. 
You are not being punished...you have not failed. 
On the contrary, you have been called closer to Him because of
your faithfulness. You see, before He comes to rule and
to reign on the earth, and we behold His glory, He must have
 a people prepared to serve Him.  The refiner’s fire is not for everyone...
it is for those who have a God-given zeal for His Word, for worship,
 for intercession, and for deliverance.  The Lord is preparing
His remnant...and if He has called you to undergo
the dark night of the soul, then you are among them. 
The refiner’s fire produces only the purest gold,
 and the Lord Himself sits as the refiner and counsels us to buy it. 
God says, “Blessed is the man who endures trial,
for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life which
God has promised to those who love Him.”
“You have an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and
unfading, kept in heaven for you. In this you rejoice.”
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace,
who has called you to his eternal glory, will himself restore,
establish, and strengthen you.” 
As the mountains are round about Jerusalem,
so the Lord is round about you...when
He has tried you, you will come forth as gold.

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